“The Giant Black Elephant with White Tusks Stood in a Field of Green Grass”: Cognitive and brain mechanisms underlying aphantasia

The cognitive role of individual differences in imagery generation, the ability to visualize, is critical for human cognition, especially in language comprehension. Aphantasia, a recently identified spectrum of difficulties in visualizing mental images, has become increasingly known in research on cognitive processing. In collaboration with researchers from the University of Alabama, Lindamood-Bell has co-authored a systematic review that explores recent developments in aphantasia research. The review discusses 52 studies, highlighting new research themes and their implications in the evolving field of aphantasia, especially related to imagery’s role in cognitive domains.